


Teach Me How Love Goes

by makeitmine



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Blaine, Coparenting Blina, F/M, M/M, Teacher Kurt, Tina Was The Worst In High School But Has Changed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-10 06:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 17,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12905595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makeitmine/pseuds/makeitmine
Summary: Kurt has had zero contact with Blaine since he started dating Tina after they broke up. Thirteen years later their daughter enters his kindergarten class, but things aren't exactly as they seem.





	1. Attachment

**Author's Note:**

> Against my better judgement, I'm doing this again. My hope is that in the next three weeks I can finish this, Merry and Bright (2016's Advent story), and I Have Nothing (2015's Advent story).
> 
> If you read the tags you're probably wondering...in this world Blaine was bi all along. Everything else is canon through Glee, Actually. Instead of turning Tina down during Sadie Hawkins, he accepts her invite to the dance and they become a couple. What happens from there? Well...;)
> 
> Title of the fic is from the song of the same name by Kris Allen.

“Mr. Hummel, it’s so nice to meet you,” the too-blonde and too-Botoxed-for-under-forty mom says to Kurt. “Bentley is going to be a wonderful addition to your classroom. His au pair says he’s already reading at a third grade level!”

Kurt nods and smiles, used to the fibs the elite of New York keep giving to the board of Mount Hudson Academy. He expects that as soon as Bentley is alone he will steal the toy trucks from everyone and not pay attention. “Thank you, Mrs. Hightower. I hope this is going to be a great year for everyone involved.”

Bentley’s mother grins tightly and walks away. Kurt breathes a sigh of relief. The first day of school is a trying time for his patience. Maybe he should have taken his dad’s advice of returning in Ohio where money doesn’t rule everything. But New York was always his dream, whether the means of how he reached success were the same as they were when he was younger.

Next is a little girl who is tightly attached to her father’s leg. Kurt crouches down to her level. “Hi there, sweetheart, I’m Mr. Hummel. What’s your name?”

She buries her head in Daddy’s leg, so he speaks up. “This is Lydia. Sorry, she usually doesn’t get like this.”

“Oh, it’s fine, I see this all the time.” Kurt stands back up and is taken aback. He’d know that face anywhere. “Blaine, hi.”

“Hi, Kurt. Long time no see, huh?”

He nods. “How did--did you know I would be her teacher?”

“We kind of figured when we got the masterlist.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Tina and I.”

Kurt remembers seeing the name on the roster list. Lydia Cohen-Anderson. He never thought, though, that it would belong to the two people he cut off years ago. “I see. You two are…” he doesn’t want to ask it.

“It’s complicated,” Blaine sighs. “Way too complicated for the first day of school.”

“So maybe around teacher conferences?” Kurt teases. Blaine doesn’t take the joke well. “I’m sorry,” Kurt adds. “It’s just--it’s been what, twelve years?”

 

“Thirteen since we broke up.”

Kurt thinks of his life since then. He remembers how everything was supposed to go when he made it to New York and how quickly it all fell apart; his relationship with Blaine, his Broadway career, Vogue. Teaching was never in the cards, but here he is.

“Daddy?” Lydia finally speaks up. “Can we go home now?”

Blaine shakes his head, rubbing a hand on top of her obviously inherited from him curls. “Sweetheart, we can’t. You have to stay here and learn, okay?”

“So I can be smart like you and Mama?”

“And like Mr. Hummel. He’s very smart and he can teach you everything.”

Lydia turns to stare at Kurt. “You are?” she asks.

“I absolutely am,” Kurt replies. “Now, how about we say goodbye to Daddy and we can get started on learning everything?”

She squeezes Blaine’s legs tightly. “Bye, Daddy!” she says.

Blaine chuckles. “Bye, Lydia. Be a good girl, okay?” He pries her off and smiles at Kurt. “Take care of her.”

“I’ll do my best,” Kurt says. “Tell Tina I said hi, if she’ll accept that.”

“She will. She’s not the same girl she was at eighteen.” Blaine smiles at them and walks out of the classroom. Kurt watches Lydia tentatively look around the room before she scampers to the bookcase, then he moves on to the next student and parent.


	2. Bucket

Blaine is accosted the second he enters their apartment. “So was it him?”

“Yes, Tay, it was him,” he sighs. “And what are you doing out of bed? The doctor said you need to take it easy.”

“I’m bored.” Tina rests her head on Blaine’s shoulder as he joins her on the couch. “I don’t get how he expects me to get things done in there?”

“He doesn’t. He expects you to relax and let our little ones grow.”

She groans. “They’re growing enough already. I’m wearing your sweatpants.”

“Tina, you’re only nine weeks along.”

“With twins, Blainey-days. You knocked me up with twins. In another month I’m going to be a human balloon.”

Tina’s flair for dramatics have waned over the years, so Blaine is surprised at this. Her pregnancy with Lydia was to the book: enjoyable, miraculous, and frightening. When she brought up having another child last fall Blaine agreed wholeheartedly, assuming it would happen as quickly as before. Seven months of trying and one miscarriage later they lucked out. Unfortunately Tina developed a severe case of morning sickness and passed out at work a week ago. After giving her fluids to treat the dehydration, the doctor performed an ultrasound and stunned the two of them when he pointed out the two heartbeats. If Blaine has to put up with this from Tina now, he dreads how things will be when March and her due date comes.

“So how is he?” Tina asked. “Still gorgeous? Still single?”

Blaine eyes her warily. “Are you serious? He’s Lydia’s teacher!”

“You still have two eyes.”

“Fine. He looks incredible.”

“And…?”

“And what, Tina?” Blaine says exasperatedly. “I wasn’t about to check for a wedding ring.”

“But since he still goes by Hummel?” Tina grins.

“You do realize that _he_ thinks we’re married, right?”

“Then you need to tell him otherwise, ASAP.”

“No,” Blaine says firmly. “I’m not about to do anything. He’s teaching our daughter until June, and then he’ll be out of our lives until these two are ready for kindergarten.”

“And by then you may have met the right person,” Tina replies.

“Why are you even invested in this? It’s because of you that our friendship ended.”

Tina stares down at the hardwood floor. “I’m sorry about that.” They had been dating for a month when Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury’s not-wedding happened, and Tina went off on Kurt believing he was hoping to get back with Blaine that night. Kurt left the reception soon after, and other than when he returned for Finn’s funeral he never spoke to either of them again. He avoided any and all New Directions reunions over the years. Most of their friends assumed he was couldn’t be around without his brother; Blaine knew it was him and Tina that Kurt was staying away from.

Blaine decides to change the subject. “Did you eat anything this morning? I can whip up an omelet for you.”

“No thanks, I think--oh god.” Tina reaches for a bucket at the foot of the couch and retches up the contents of her stomach. She stays hunched over it for a few moments after to ensure the nausea has subsided. “Food is the last thing I want to think of,” she says, voice scratchy.

“Then how about I help you back to bed?” She agrees, and Blaine walks Tina to her bedroom and tucks her in before going to his own bedroom to work on a song. Blaine doesn’t get far before his thoughts run back to Kurt, and how he should explain that he and Tina haven’t been together in a decade and he’s eternally single.


	3. Collapse

Some days Kurt immediately collapses on the couch the second he arrives home. Wrangling up five-and-six-year-olds for six hours, five days a week, nine months out of the year exhausts him to the bone. This year’s class is no exception; there are a handful of children who aren’t quite up to the standards the academy sets out to exceed. Little Bentley Hightower, despite being the excellent reader his mother proclaimed, is terrible at numbers.

Lydia is one of the top students. Naturally, Kurt believes. He knows it’s stereotypical to assume she has the brains with her three-quarters Asian heritage, but he does remember that Blaine was at the top of his class before he left Dalton, and Tina also excelled in school.

Today was a trying day--Fridays usually are. This week the kids were extra hyper for some reason, and Kurt knows it’s going to get worse once they get out of September. The only thing he wants tonight is to catch up on the trashy reality shows filling up his DVR. He changes into a pair of yoga pants and an old NYADA shirt before lying down and turning on the latest iteration of Real Housewives.

He’s interrupted fifteen minutes later by the phone. As Kurt looks at the screen, he groans. “What?” he answers.

“Yikes, no need to be Mr. Grumpypants,” Rachel replies.

“Sorry. Long week.”

“Seems like they’ve all been. I haven’t heard from you since before the first day. I had to make sure your class didn’t bound you up already.”

“They aren’t that bad, Rach…”

“Uh-huh. Tell me about the best student you have.”

Kurt freezes up. “That might not be such a good idea.”

“Oh no! Is it a celebrity child? Is it Taylor Swift’s son?”

“You aren’t even close,” he says. “It’s Blaine and Tina’s daughter.”

“Lydia’s in your class?” Rachel exclaims. “That’s even more outstanding. Now you can teach the second generation of New Directions!”

“We’re discussing the child of my ex-boyfriend and the ‘friend’ who thought I was sabotaging her chance with him. And how do you know about Lydia?”

“Sam told me when she was born.”

Of course he did, Kurt thinks. He hasn’t spoken to Sam since he moved back to Ohio after attempting to become a model in New York. It was too painful to hear about Blaine and Tina all the time.

“Okay,” Kurt says. He stands up and walks to the kitchen to get a bag of tortilla chips and the salsa he made two nights ago for tacos. “What else do you know?”

“Not much. I know Blaine’s working on some shows but Jesse and I haven’t come across him yet. They’re probably still off-Broadway. I think Tina works for the mayor’s office, or she did last I heard like three years ago.”

“So how are they affording to send Lydia to Hudson? You placed your deposit there the moment you found out you were pregnant with Avi, and that was basically Jesse’s advance for Phantom”

“Didn’t you keep telling me in high school that Blaine had trust funds?” Rachel asks.

He dips a chip into the tomatoes and pops it into his mouth, savoring the extra peppers he added to it. “Oh, yeah.” Of course the Andersons’ money is paying for it. Blaine’s father probably threw it all at him when he decided to marry Tina instead of a guy. “That makes it a little more plausible.”

“Kurt, do you want me to come over? You sound like you’re getting into one of your moods.”

“No thanks, Rach. You don’t need to call out for me.”

“Okay, but Monday I’m taking you out. You haven’t met anyone in ages, and if I don’t at least get you into a bar you’re going to be moping about Blaine for the next month.”

Kurt rolls his eyes. Sure, his last relationship was over a year ago, but he’s not at that point yet. “We’ll see, okay? Break a leg tonight.”

“Will do. Bye, Kurt.”

“Bye.” Once Rachel hangs up he sits back down. He has to find a way to make it to June without having a breakdown.


	4. Drink

Blaine’s phone blares and interrupts his concentration on the script he’s been reading. He glances at the screen and sees it’s Lydia’s school and immediately worries. He hits to accept the call. “This is Blaine Anderson.”

“Hey, Blaine? It’s Kurt.”

“Hi.” He takes his glasses off and sets them on top of the stack of papers on the desk. “Is everything okay? I made sure Lydia had every part of her costume packed.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s good, but I was hoping you could do a favor for the class.”

Three hours later he’s walking into room 122 with two dozen apple juice boxes and a case of small water bottles. The mother who was supposed to be taking care of these for the Halloween party came down with appendicitis and Kurt called Blaine right away, knowing he would likely drop everything to help the class out because that’s always been the type of guy who would.

Kurt sees him from his desk and smiles. “Thank you so much,” he says. “It wouldn’t be a class party without drinks.”

“You’re welcome,” Blaine replies. “Do you want these anywhere in particular?”

“On the art table is fine.” Kurt points to a cleaned-off surface in the corner, surrounded on the wall by drawings and paintings. Blaine takes the drinks over and sets them down. “I’m really glad you agreed to this.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“I thought De’Shana’s mother would be a reliable choice. Guess I have to try again for the winter holiday party.”

“If you’d like I can be here for that as well.”

“Blaine, you don’t have to drop everything to be the room dad…”

“It’s fine, Kurt,” he says, leaning against the table. “I work from home. Unless my writing partner wants to go over everything or we have a deadline, I can help you out with anything.”

Kurt nods. “That’s great. So you’re writing for a living?”

“Composing, actually. Sometimes I’ll help Shawn--he’s the playwright of us--if he’s having a problem with dialogue.”

“So I’m conversing with half of the next Pasek and Paul, huh?”

Blaine chuckles. “Not quite that far. Kittman and Anderson hasn’t exactly had rave reviews for their shows yet.”

“You aren’t acting then?” Kurt asks.

“Um, no,” he replies. “I couldn’t. When Tina and I narrowed down where we were going to school I decided NYU was my best option. I double majored in music and creative writing.”

Kurt momentarily winces at the mention of Tina, but he raises an eyebrow. “Impressive.”

“What about you? How come you aren’t acting?”

Silence lingers over the question. “I tried,” Kurt finally answers. “For a year and a half I went on every audition I could find. Not a single one ended in a callback. I reached a point where it just felt futile to keep having my heart broken by all these directors that I said screw it, I already have a job I love, I can be successful despite them. Then the great Conde Nast Layoff of 2019 happened.

“It was terrible. I was unemployed, I had to break my lease and move in with Rachel and Jesse three months after they got married. Dad sent me as much as he could without breaking the bank, until that Christmas. He put his foot down and told me I needed to find another path. He offered me half of the tire shop even though he knew I wouldn’t want to leave New York. In the end, though, I decided to get my masters in education and become a teacher.”

“Because of your mom,” Blaine says.

Kurt nods, his eyes misting up. “Yeah, because of her. She taught kindergarten too.”

“She’d be proud of you.”

A gaggle of voices begins approaching as one of the school aides brings the class back in from the playground. Lydia lights up and runs over to Blaine as soon as she sees him. “Hi, Daddy!”

“Hey there, Princess. You ready to show everyone your Mulan costume?”

Lydia nods. “I’m ready!”

Kurt interrupts them with a clap of his hands and everyone goes silent. “Okay, everyone. In a few minutes we’ll start our Halloween party. Mr. Anderson is already here to help out, and Mrs. Touren should be here soon. I want to to be on your best behavior for them, okay?” The students nod. “Awesome. Now, let’s all say hi to Mr. Anderson.”

Twenty voices ring in unison, “Hi, Mr. Anderson!”

“Hello, everyone!” Blaine says with a wave. “I’m Lydia’s dad, if you didn’t know.”

The party is a success. Michelle, who is the mother of Lydia’s friend Gabrielle, arrives with cookies and candy and together the adults make sure nobody goes off the deep end of a sugar high. As the school day winds down he assists with getting the students out to their parents--or in some cases, their families’ drivers. He also helps Kurt clean everything up. They make some more small talk before Tina texts him asking if he can pick up a pizza on his way home. _The babies want extra mushrooms_ she adds.

“You ready, Lydia?” Blaine asks as he puts his phone away. “Mama’s already home waiting for us.”

“Uh-huh.” She’s still in costume, refusing to take it off since he’s going to take her trick or treating tonight.

Blaine makes sure Lydia gets her bookbag and he turns to Kurt, who is sliding his jacket on. “I guess I’ll see you later,” he says.

“Of course,” Kurt replies. “Thank you for helping me out.”

“Any time. Have a good weekend.”

“You too. Goodbye, Lydia.”

“Bye, Mr. Hummel!” she waves. Blaine takes her hand and leads her out, looking back at Kurt one last time as he locks everything up.


	5. Example

Kurt checks his school email over lunch and almost drops his container of leftover risotto out of his hand.

_To: Kurt Hummel (k.hummel@hudsonvalleyacademy.edu)_  
From: Tina Cohen-Chang (tinacohenchang@nyc.gov)  
Sent: November 17, 2025 9:48 AM  
Subject: Will be late today 

_Hi, Kurt. Blaine’s in California visiting his brother this week so I’ll be picking Lydia up from school. Unfortunately I have a meeting at 1:45 that won’t get me out until 3, so I will be a little late getting her, hopefully no more than fifteen minutes. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause._

_Tina_

He thinks back to the last time they saw each other. When Blaine suggested they perform a duet at the reception he mentioned that he’d be going to the wedding with Tina as his date. Kurt was fine with it; he’d just begun seeing Adam, so it wasn’t as if reuniting so soon after the breakup was going to happen. After their number ended to rousing applause Kurt went to the refreshment table where Tina, who watched them from a table nearby, lit into him about wanting to get back with her new boyfriend. Kurt was taken aback, as he hadn’t realized it was that serious between Blaine and Tina. When Blaine heard the commotion and Kurt told him everything, Blaine sided with Tina, saying “I’m sorry, I’m with her now.” Kurt left the reception from there, cried in his bed at his dad and Carole’s house all evening, and bumped his flight to New York up as early as he could. That was the last he saw of either of them until Lydia’s first day of school.

He types up a reply. _That’s fine. With how chilly it is today I’ll keep her in my classroom. Just come on back._ Once it sends, he takes a few deep breaths. This is going to be a long afternoon.

After the other students head home he sees Lydia looking nervous at her seat. “What’s wrong?”

“Is Mama coming?” she asks.

Kurt nods. “She told me she’ll be a little late. I know Daddy’s usually out front pretty early, but she had something come up. She’ll be here soon. If you want, you can get the crayons out and draw something for her. Is that okay?”

Lydia nods and gets up. She races over to the art corner, long dark hair flying behind her. Kurt returns to his desk and checks up on some of his favorite gossip sites on his phone, checking on Lydia every couple minutes.

When Tina arrives she knocks on the door. Kurt looks up and she grins. “Hi there,” she says.

“Tina, come on in,” he waves her in. She looks as stunning as ever: hair pulled over her left shoulder, black coat and leather boots framing her. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been wonderful. How about you?”

“Good. Do you want to take a seat? I think Lydia’s busy making something for you.”

“Sure.” She pulls at the belt of her jacket and takes it off, revealing green colorblock dress that glows against her skin. And a very prominent baby bump.

“Wow,” Kurt says, “Lydia never told me she was getting a brother or sister.”

“Brothers,” Tina corrects as she eases into the chair across from Kurt. “We just found the sexes out on Thursday.”

“Congratulations, Tina. You two deserve this.”

She nods. “Thank you. Even if I don’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kurt, I am so, so sorry for what happened back then. I should never have assumed you wanted to get back with Blaine.”

“It’s okay,” he says, “it’s been a long time, I’m over it.”

Tina shakes her head. “No. You know how I was when you were still in Lima. The girl who faked the stutter and finally gained all the confidence, even though she was always overshadowed by Rachel, or Mercedes, or even Santana. When senior year finally came I was ready. I thought it was finally going to be my time to shine. And I still didn’t. I had the lead at sectionals but it was Gangnam Style, and then I was overshadowed when Marley fainted at the end of it.

“Blaine--he obviously went through a lot after you left for New York. When he opened up to me about cheating on you I told him there was no way I could judge him, since even I technically cheated on Artie during Asian Camp. And our friendship just--it became something more. I fell hard and fast for him, Kurt. He treated me exactly like I wanted to be treated. When you came back for the wedding and you two agreed to sing together, I guess I got a little jealous. I thought I could never compare to you in Blaine’s eyes.”

“Oh, Tina,” Kurt sighs. He wants to reach over and hug her. “I wasn’t there for him. And if I’d known you two were officially a couple before that, I probably would have asked to sing with you instead. But...you really did hurt me.”

“I know I did.” Tina’s eyes begin to water, and Kurt grabs a Kleenex from his desk to hand to her. “Thanks,” she says as she dabs the corners. “I was such a bitch--sorry for using that word in here. You didn’t deserve that.”

“So why are you apologizing now? Why not any time after it happened.”

“Because outside of Blaine I wasn’t happy. I started getting therapy during my sophomore year at Brown and it made me realize how awful I was throughout. And after--after that I avoided a lot of people for a while. But I want to be a good example to my daughter, and to my sons when they arrive. I want to show them that you should stick by your friends no matter what. And that’s what I want, Kurt. I miss our friendship, and I know Blaine does too.”

It’s then that Kurt realizes he’s crying too. “I want it too.” He gets up and comes around the desk, pulling Tina into a hug.

It isn’t long before they’re interrupted. “Mama? Mr. Hummel?”

Tina looks at the drawing in Lydia’s hands. “Oh, honey, that’s so beautiful!” Kurt sees flowers drawn all over--red and yellow. “Are you ready to get home?”

Lydia nods. “Go get your things, Lyd,” Kurt says. As she pulls her coat on and Tina does the same, he takes a post-it out of his drawer and scribbles a number on it before handing it to Tina. “The olive branch has been accepted,” he says. “You two can call or text me any time.”

“Sounds good.” She sticks it into the front pocket of her purse and takes Lydia’s hand. “We have a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”

He laughs as he grabs his own coat and messenger bag. “We definitely do.”


	6. Fraction

Sometimes Blaine feels like a fraud to the LGBT community.

He’s been in three relationships in his life: Kurt, Tina, and Alexandra, a woman he met through a dating app and was with for close to a year. It wasn’t long after Lydia was born, and she never fancied herself as a mom-type. She also resented how close Blaine and Tina were. It wasn’t a shock to Blaine that she ditched him the moment she met another guy.

It isn’t that he didn’t try dating men. There have been numerous first dates with Josh, Tyler, Joel, Oren, Angelo, Rob, Tristan, Victor, Lionel...very few made it to second dates. And Blaine knows the exact reason why. Hookups with men have always been easier than boyfriends.

Blaine takes an evening away from Cooper and his family to go out. They’re great, but his nephews have already picked up on the worst of Cooper’s traits. He takes a Lyft to Fraction, one of the top gay bars he’s ever been in. He isn’t out for a relationship--not when he lives 3000 miles away. He needs a release, to not be himself for a night, and a blowjob.

He needs to get his mind off of Kurt Hummel.

Tina Facetimed Blaine a few afternoons ago to tell him that Kurt forgave her for the blowup in Lima and he might contact them outside of school. It terrified Blaine. He’s been doing everything he can over the past two and a half months to not think about Kurt reentering his life. Separating Kurt--the perfect man in Blaine’s eyes--and Mr. Hummel is a task that is seemingly impossible.

Cover paid and overcoat checked, Blaine strolls to the bar and orders a beer. Tonight is about forgetting everything. When the bartender sets the bottle in front of him Blaine takes it and takes a swig while checking out the dance floor.

It doesn’t take long for a guy to approach him. “Are you wearing space pants?”

Blaine nearly spits his beer out laughing. “My ass is pretty out of this world, isn’t it?” he retorts.

“So you’re familiar with that line,” the guy says. Blaine turns to him--slightly taller than him, short dark hair, wearing a denim shirt. “It is fantastic, though. I’m Micah.”

“Tony.” The bar is the best place for Blaine to revisit his long-forgotten acting chops. Besides, it’s not like he’ll be seeing this guy again after tonight.

“So what do you do for a living?” Micah asks him.

Blaine has a carefully crafted persona. “I work for a pharmaceutical company.”

“Nice, getting those big buck, huh?”

“If you say so,” Blaine chuckles. He takes another sip. “And you?”

“I’m a teacher. Kindergarten.”

Just like that Blaine’s buzz for the night is ruined. “Ah,” he nods. “Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“It has its moments,” Micah says. He then changes the subject. “So you wanna get out of here?”

Blaine wants to say yes, but he knows what will happen. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he replies. He pulls a ten out of his wallet and sets it on the bartop. “Nice meeting you, Micah.”

“How about my number, Tony?”

“Sorry, it’s my last night in town.” Blaine turns and walks away, grabs his coat, and leaves.

His mind races the entire ride back to Cooper and Bethany’s house. Everything is Kurt, and everything hurts more than he expected.


	7. Genuine

_Happy Thanksgiving, Blaine_  
  
**Thank you**  
  
**Wait, who is this?**  
  
_It’s Kurt :)_  
  
**Ohhhh! I didn’t realize you took my number from the emergency contact list**  
  
**And happy Thanksgiving to you, too!**  
  
_Thanks. I told Tina I might start texting you guys after our talk_  
  
**Oh, okay**  
  
_Speaking of, congratulations on the twins_  
  
**Thanks**  
  
_Blaine, I’m genuinely happy for you. I don’t want you to think I still hold anything against you after all these years_  
  
**I know. I’m just still processing all of this**  
  
**You as Lydia’s teacher. You texting me for the first time in thirteen years. The twins.**  
  
_It is overwhelming, isn’t it?_  
  
**I just spent a week around Cooper’s sons. As long as they don’t turn out like him, I’ll be fine.**  
  
_Wait...Cooper has kids?_  
  
**And a wife, believe it or not**  
  
_Tell me he hasn’t taught them the finer details of pointing_  
  
**He tried to teach Lydia the first time he saw her. At two weeks old**  
  
_So he’s still the same old Cooper_  
  
**Of course**  
  
_So, how is your holiday? You in Lima?_  
  
**Not this year. Tina’s midwife is hesitant on her going too far away. Her parents and my mom are out here.**  
  
**I’m assuming you’re being reacclimated to Ohio? How’s your dad? And Carole?**  
  
_They’re great. Ohio, not so much_  
  
**Some things never change**  
  
_They do not_  
  
**Hey Kurt? Do you want to get coffee when you get back into the city? Or whenever?**  
  
_Sure, I’d like that_  
  
**Awesome I have to run. I’m on pie duty today**  
  
_Me too. We can trade recipes when we meet up!_  
  
**Great idea!**  
  
_I’ll talk to you later then. Have a good day_  
  
**You too, Kurt**  
  
**And thanks for texting me :)**  
  
_Anytime_


	8. Health

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

Blaine paces across their living room. “No.”

Tina rolls her eyes. “You’re restless. You took out half of your bowties for me to help you choose. It’s just Kurt, Blainey-days. You don’t need to work to impress him.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Blaine grumbles. He doesn’t want to get into an argument. Tina on a normal day can be a handful; pregnant Tina is a ticking time bomb. It doesn’t help that she’s been overly invested in Blaine meeting Kurt for coffee, no matter how many times he reassures her that it is not a date. It’s not going to happen.

They haven’t had much of a chance to talk this week. Flu season is kicking into gear, and unfortunately Lydia became one of the first victims. She stayed home Tuesday through Thursday so Blaine could tend to her health. Even now after her fever has broken she still isn’t at a hundred percent. Luckily he convinced her to take a nap so he can sneak out--if they keep the talk to under an hour he can be back before she wakes up and Tina doesn’t have to put herself or the babies at risk of illness.

Blaine checks his watch and he only has ten minutes to get to the coffeeshop. “I better get going,” he says. He plants a kiss on top of Tina’s head and rubs her belly. “Want anything when I come back?”

Tina thinks for a second. “Gingerbread cookies.”

“Your sweet tooth is beginning to rival mine.”

“That would be thanks to your sons. Remember how with Lydia I wanted anything salty?”

He smiles at her. “And the two weeks you ate nothing but street cart pretzels?”

“Hey now, I had just moved to New York and they were the greatest thing I had ever tasted at the time!” she jokes.

Blaine takes his coat off the hook by the door and buttons it up. “It’s a good thing your taste has become refined over the years.” He wraps a red cashmere scarf around his neck. “See you later, Tay.”

“Bye,” Tina says with a wave.

Blaine sees Kurt reaching the entrance of the coffeeshop as he crosses the street. “Kurt!” he calls out.

Kurt turns around and smiles. “Hey, Blaine!” Blaine picks up the pace to meet him at the door, where Kurt envelops him in a hug. “Let’s get in, it’s pretty cold.”

“Yeah, of course,” Blaine replies. He follows Kurt into the shop and lines up behind him. It’s almost overwhelming being this close to Kurt since it’s been so long.

They reach the counter and Kurt gives the barista his order. “A nonfat mocha and a soy latte, please.”

Blaine’s jaw drops. “You remember?”

“That I got you to change your coffee order on a slow day at the Lima Bean while I worked there?” Kurt asks. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Blaine grins. “And four gingerbread cookies to go, please,” he adds on.

“For baby mama?” Kurt jokes while he fishes money out of his wallet.

“Yeah, she said she’s craving them.”

When they have their coffees and Tina’s cookies, they locate a table near the shop’s fireplace to warm up. Kurt unravels his scarf and unbuttons his jacket. Blaine has been so used to seeing him in teacher mode that the laid-back outfit Kurt’s sporting--dark jeans and a navy henley--looks incredible.

His eyes linger on Kurt’s body a second too long as Kurt smirks. “I know, I still look good, don’t I?”

Blaine wants to throw himself into the kindling. “Um--yeah, of course.”

“It’s okay, so do you. You look like you could still be in your early twenties.”

“Thanks,” he grins. “I’ve tried to keep up with all of your skin care tips.”

“I’m glad to know that.” Kurt takes a cautious sip of his coffee, wincing as the heat hits his tongue. “How’s Lydia doing?” he asks.

“Better,” Blaine says. “She’s napping right now, so I want to be home before she wakes up.”

Kurt nods. “Has she seen Santa yet?”

“I wanted to take her tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s going to be an option. Next weekend for sure.”

“I can’t wait to hear about that.”

They make small talk throughout the hour, catching each other up on their families and college lives. Blaine finally gets to hear the firsthand story about the band Kurt started at NYADA and Elliott, the ex he was with for six years. They also exchange their pie recipes--blueberry from Blaine, lemon marscapone from Kurt--before Tina texts Blaine to tell him that Lydia woke up. “Guess I should head out,” Blaine says as he stands up. “Thanks for meeting up with me, and for buying the coffee and cookies even though you didn’t have to.”

“It’s no problem,” Kurt says. “What are friends for?”

Friends, yes. Blaine realizes Kurt probably wouldn’t want to get back together with him anyway. “I’ll see you for the Christmas party, if not sooner,” Blaine says.

“Of course.” Kurt stands up and hugs him again. “Have a good evening.”

As Blaine walks from the coffeeshop to his apartment, he realizes he’s a little disappointed in Kurt saying they were friends. Maybe one day it can be more.


	9. Inch

Kurt knows he needs to speak with someone about this...thing going on with Blaine. He doesn’t trust Rachel’s advice, and he’s been terrified to let his dad know that Blaine and Tina are back in his life. Burt may be wise, but he’ll just bring up the reason why Kurt broke up with Blaine in the first place.

The best person to talk to, he decides, is his hairstylist Joanna.

“So what are we doing today?” she asks as she sets him in front of her booth, towel drying his hair after washing it.

“Just the usual inch off the top,” Kurt says. “And maybe some lowlights? I think I need something.

“Oooooh, sounds like there’s someone in the picture?”

Kurt chuckles. “Seriously, Jo? I’ve been coming to you every other month for five years. If I had someone, you’d be the first to know after my dad and Rachel.”

“No, no, there is someone,” she continues, reaching for the scissors. “I can call Becky up to bring her tarot cards over.”

“Please leave your wife out of this,” he sighs. “And tarot cards wouldn’t help me at all.”

Joanne pauses as she’s carding a tendril between her fingers. “How complicated are we talking here? 

“I’m teaching the daughter of my first boyfriend.”

“Scandalous.”

“It’s complicated, Jo.”

“I have all day.” Joanna glances at the clock on her workstation. “Or until 7 when my next appointment comes in. Chin up.”

Kurt raises his head. “We met my junior year of high school, his sophomore year. He was a part of one of the show choirs we were facing and I was told to spy on the group. I was going through a lot of shit with this bully at the time, and he kind of became my mentor. He’s bi, but he took a guy to a dance previously and was beaten up.”

“Yikes,” Joanna sympathizes.

“Mmhmm. I ended up transferring to his school when things escalated and I crushed hard on Blaine. I told him about my feelings at Valentine’s Day, but it took him a month after that to ask me out--that in itself is a long story. Eventually I went back to my old school, but Blaine transferred that fall. We did everything together, until I moved out here.”

“Long distance broke you up?”

“It was part of the reason. I was inattentive after I started working at Vogue, Blaine was lonely and cheated on me. It hurt for a while, but at the same time he was still my best friend.” Kurt watches Joanna snip away at the crown of his head. “He flew out here that Christmas with my dad and--I don’t know, it felt like we were making progress back to where we were. Well, come January, a mutual girlfriend of ours asks him out. I flew to Ohio for a wedding and she assumed I was coming for him and let me have it. I left there and didn’t see either of them again until this past September.”

“Is Blaine still with said homewrecker?” Joanna asks.

“He is,” Kurt says. “Like I said, their daughter is in my class this year and they’re expecting twin boys next year.”

“Damn.”

“I know. But at the same time, all of my feelings for Blaine are trying to return. And it sucks, because he’s one of those parents who wants to be involved. He came to help with our Halloween party at the last second and he didn’t hesitate to sign up for the holiday one this week.”

Joanna switches the scissors out for an electric razor. “Do you think he’s doing this to impress you?” she asks.

“Not at all,” Kurt replies. He bites his lip as the razor tickles the back of his neck. “Blaine always put others before him. This is just who he is.”

“You know what you need Kurt? You need to get laid.”

His mouth drops. “Seriously, Jo?”

“Crushing on your married ex? And a student’s dad? That’s trouble, Kurt. Let me and Becky take you to Club Lexus tomorrow night. A good fuck should get your mind off of Blaine. And while we’re at it, do you trust me to do some magic with your color? I think I see a gray in here.”

“Joanna!” Kurt gasps as she cracks up.


	10. Judgment

Blaine had grand plans for the day. Take Lydia to school, return home to bake two dozen butterscotch cookies for her class’ party, supervise said party while attempting to get into Kurt’s head, bring Lydia home, bake more cookies, change clothes, and wait for Lydia’s babysitter to arrive so he can go to Tina’s office party. Even if he’s not the significant other, she’s always taken him along.

Instead Shawn called him at 7:15 after he got a brand new idea for a show. The plot interested Blaine, so he began tinkering with a couple songs after dropping Lydia off. Before he knew it it was nearing 1 and he was supposed to be at the school in half an hour.

One emergency trip inside Whole Foods later, Blaine strolls into Hudson Academy, signing himself in at the office and receiving the blue “Parent” badge he’s required to wear. The kindergarten rooms are closest to the entrance, so he’s thankful he doesn’t have far to walk.

He knocks on the door to the room. Kurt looks up from his desk, smiles, and waves him in.

“Hey,” Blaine says as he closes the door behind him. “I don’t want any judgment from you but I ran out of time to bake. I got one of those tea cookie trays instead.”

Kurt chuckles. “That’s fine. Maybe it will keep the sugar high a little more limited this time.” He pockets the phone that was on his desk and stands up. “However I do miss your wonderful cookies that, if I remember, you promised to keep making for me.”

Blaine flushes as red as his cardigan. “I owe you what, twenty-five batches?”

“Twenty-seven, but who’s counting?”

“If you’re staying in town for a bit maybe I can get one to you?”

Kurt stares at the floor. “I’m heading to Lima tomorrow,” he says quietly. “I’ll be back before New Year’s, though.”

“Okay,” Blaine says, heart deflating. “I’ll bring them when school resumes then.”

“Of course,” Kurt grins. His phone buzzes, and he takes it out to read what was sent to him. Blaine watches as he lights up at the message.

“Is that your dad?” Blaine asks.

“No, no, it’s uh...it’s this guy I met the other night.”

Knockout. “Oh.”

“His name’s Oscar, he’s an accountant.”

“For Dunder-Mifflin?”

Kurt glares at him. “No, for an actual Fortune 500 company. We’re going on a date tonight.”

“Oh. Well, have fun.”

Blaine feels awful. He knows there’s no reason to expect that Kurt would ever take him back, but they’ve been...friendly? Even borderline flirty over the past couple months. It couldn’t have been for nothing.

Kurt must sense Blaine’s pain, so he changes the subject. “So the students had to write letters to Santa. Is Lydia going to get that Barbie Dreamhouse this year?”

“Oh god, my mom bought it for her in like August,” Blaine laughs. “She said she has to spoil her only granddaughter at all times. Coop hates it, but Mom just tells him to try for a girl.”

“I can imagine. How long until she gets to try Grandma’s makeup out?”

“Oh, never, unless it’s stage makeup.”

“I miss your mom,” Kurt says. “Tell her I said hi.”

“I will,” Blaine replies. “Tell your dad I say hello, too.”

“Of course.”

Their conversation is again cut short, this time by Michelle Samarti arriving with drinks and mini-stockings for the children, as well as for Kurt and Blaine. “I put a little extra in yours, just in case your wife is craving some,” she whispers to him.

Blaine freezes. He still hasn’t told Kurt about his and Tina’s relationship. And now is definitely not the time for it.


	11. Key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't originally in my plans, but for plot reasons it had to happen. It's a very light R-rated Kurt/OC scene. If that's not your thing, I understand.

Oscar Valenzuela is nothing like anyone Kurt has ever dated before. He’s twenty-six, 6’3”, a first-generation American from Chile, graduated from North Carolina on a soccer scholarship, and has a body that was practically chiseled by the greatest sculptors on Earth. He’s a welcome distraction from the ever-growing feelings Kurt keeps having about Blaine.

Blaine remained true to his word and brought Kurt a dozen lemon butter cookies that were to die for when school resumed after the holidays. They’ve met for coffee twice as well, catching up on random tidbits that have happened over the years. Kurt knows that Blaine’s holding back, though, if his hesitation about things in their last meeting is anything to go by. Kurt has decided if it continues to their next meeting he’ll bring it up, but he doesn’t know when that will be since Blaine and his writing partner are going on a retreat to New Hampshire.

But this is why Kurt has Oscar, and why he owes Joanna and Becky a bottle of wine. In the past month since they met at Club Lexus Kurt has enjoyed the most incredible sex of his life.

Tonight they met for a show and a late dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Oscar fed Kurt one of his sashimi slices and gave him a tantalizing look that overshone the spiciness of the wasabi. Oscar quickly ordered a Lyft to take them to his apartment and they spent most of the drive making out. Kurt hasn’t felt like this in a long time--probably since he started dating Elliott.

It isn’t that he’s inexperienced. He’s thirty-two years old, for crying out loud. But the notches on Kurt’s bedpost are nothing to brag about: Blaine, Adam, Elliott, and a couple more men who never lasted past the three month mark. He’s never been one for one-night stands, and he’s grateful that Oscar wanted his number and contacted him the next morning. A month later things are moving in the right direction.

The driver pulls up to Oscar’s building and they race out of the car, parting only long enough to scramble inside and get on the elevator up to the eighth floor. When the doors opened they sprinted to Oscar’s door, where he fished his key out of his pocket and shakily unlocked it. Once they’re inside, Oscar pins Kurt against the wall and starts sucking a spot just below his left ear.

“Mmph,” Kurt moans. “As wonderful as that feels...ungh...no marks in places my kids can see.”

Oscar backs up and looks hungrily at him. “That’s fine,” he replies. He swiftly unbuttons Kurt’s coat and slides it off, leaving it in a puddle in the entryway. “Bedroom?”

“Yeah.” Kurt follows Oscar to the back room. It’s really tasteful: espresso furniture, hunter green bedding, and cream walls. He got to admire it all the first time he came over, but now is not the time to. Oscar begins kissing him again as his hands work to open Kurt’s dress shirt. Once it’s unbuttoned and slid off of him Kurt moves in, removing Oscar’s blazer and then turtleneck. He eyes the bronzed six-pack that greets him before he pushes Oscar down on the bed.

“Mmm, feisty today,” Oscar quips.

Kurt grins. “I have a mission.” He begins kissing Oscar’s chest, sucking longer and harder as he reaches his nipples. He moves on to his stomach, lapping around the curves of his muscles, before returning up top to Oscar’s mouth. Oscar reaches around to grab Kurt’s ass and flip them over, and the weight holding Kurt down is more than enough.

“Fuck,” he moans, “I don’t think I’m going to last.”

“Keep it together, old man,” Oscar jokes. He squeezes harder, causing Kurt to arch up.

“Oh god, Blaine, please.”

The weight suddenly disappears. “Who the fuck is Blaine?” Oscar says loudly.

Kurt doesn’t know what to say. “I--I don’t know,” he lies.

“Bullshit. There’s another guy?”

“No, no. Blaine was my first boyfriend. We haven’t been together in over a decade.”

“And you just thought of him out of the blue?” Oscar jumps off the bed, grabs Kurt’s shirt, and throws it at him. “Get out of here.”

“Oscar, wait,” Kurt pleads.

“You have five minutes.” Oscar turns out of the room, and Kurt hears the bathroom door slam.

He holds himself together as he redresses and leaves the apartment, all the way until he hails a cab back to his place and slumps into the seat.

Thirteen years. Thirteen years since they’d been together and he’d never once said Blaine’s name during foreplay. But of course after the last four months he’s on his mind nearly all the time. Kurt silently sobs into the quietness of the car.

He’s fucked, in the worst way.


	12. Limited

Tina has been on maternity leave for one week and she’s already driving Blaine up the wall. Her midwife advised her to go on bedrest after she hit thirty-two weeks due to the increased chance of premature labor. Thankfully this time Tina is actually taking the advice to stay in bed, though Blaine’s sure it’s because her movement has become extremely limited in the past few weeks.

Blaine settles down in front of his computer to do a bit of morning work--Lydia’s Valentine’s Day party is today, so he won’t be around to do anything in the afternoon. He sets an alarm on his phone so he knows when he needs to leave for the school and sets it aside. A few minutes later it buzzes.

_Blainey-days, I have to pee and I can’t get up :(_

He sighs, gets up, and pads across the apartment to her bedroom. “I swear you’re worse than Lydia was when we potty trained her,” he jokes.

“Your sons like my bladder,” she retorts.

“I see, they’re only mine now that you’re uncomfortable, but the second they’re on the outside you’ll claim them?”

“If I’m allowed to sleep for more than two consecutive hours then they can be mine.” 

Tina holds her arms out for Blaine to grab. He helps her sit up, pulls her legs down the side of the mattress, and pulls her up. It takes a moment for her to center her balance. “You okay there?” Blaine asks.

“Yep.”

“Do you want me to help you to the bathroom?”

Tina rolls her eyes. “I think I’m still capable of that.” He watches as she waddles her way across to her ensuite, but he still follows after her as she’ll likely need help up when she’s done. She groans as she sits down on the toilet. “I’m done. I know this was my idea but I want to send them back.”

“It’s a little too late for that, Tina,” Blaine grins.

“Did I tell you what the vice-mayor said at my baby shower? He joked that I’m waiting until they’re able to crawl to have them.”

“Why would he say that?”

“Because I’m huge,” Tina groans. “I’ve already gained more than I did with Lydia, and I still have seven weeks to go.

“Tina,” Blaine says as he kneels next to her. “Brenda told you going in to this that you were going to gain more. It’s completely normal.”

“I know,” she sighs. “It’s just, you know, all the third trimester stuff. I don’t sleep, I pee every half hour, I’m starving, I’m in constant pain between my sciatica and the Braxton-Hicks contractions...I want this to end.”

Blaine smiles. “They need to give us a few weeks so I can get the nursery ready.”

“True. Okay, turn around so I can clean up.”

“Like I haven’t seen your vagina.”

“I still need a bit of modesty about me,” Tina says. Blaine shakes his head in amazement but does turn around so she can finish her business. “Okay, ready.”

He helps her up. “Good to go?”

“Yep.” She flushes and slowly makes her way to the sink to wash her hands. When she’s done Blaine puts his arm around her waist to help her back to bed. As soon as they cross the threshold into Tina’s bedroom she stops. “Oh no.”

“What?” Blaine looks down at the liquid trickling down her legs. “Weren’t you finished?” he asks.

“Oh, I was,” Tina says in a panicked voice. “My water broke.”

Blaine’s mouth drops open. “But it’s too early! We just said that!”

“Apparently it’s not.”

His breathing picks up even though he tries to remain calm. “Okay. Okay. We can do this. Are you having contractions?”

“No more than normal.”

“Your bag?”

“Packed on Sunday, it’s in the coat closet.”

“Calls to make?”

“Brenda, Dr. Cutler, our parents, Aimee so she can pick Lydia up from school…”

“Kurt,” Blaine adds. “Fuck, I have to tell him, I’m supposed to be there this afternoon.”

“He’ll understand,” Tina says. She takes a few more steps until she stops and clenches Blaine’s shirt. “Oh god, this hurts,” she cries.

“It’s okay, Tay,” he soothes. “Do you want to lie back down while I make the calls?”

She nods. “It might help.” He helps her into the bed and runs to his phone. Even if Brenda is supposed to be the first he calls, he has to get Kurt first.

“Hello?” Kurt answers in a whisper. “Blaine? Why are you calling me?”

“Tina’s in labor,” he rushes out.

“Oh my god! I thought she had like two more months?”

“Seven weeks. Look, don’t tell Lydia yet. I’m going to have her babysitter pick her up and let her know. I’m sorry I won’t be able to help with the party today.”

“No, no, that’s fine. You need to be there for Tina and the babies. Mrs. Samarti and I can handle it alone.”

“Okay. Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course I understand. And congratulations, Blaine. Go take care of Tina. I’ll even let the office know so you don’t have to call the school.”

“Thanks a lot, Kurt. I’ll keep you updated.” An ear-piercing scream interrupts them and Blaine drops the phone before he can say goodbye to Kurt.


	13. Mist

Kurt never hears from Blaine the rest of the day. He worries a little but understands; he was there for Rachel and Jesse when Avi was born after two days of labor. Everything is probably even more hectic this time.

He wakes Saturday morning to text from overnight with an accompanying photo of two tiny humans. **They’re here! Benjamin Robert and Charlie Nicholas. They’ll be in NICU for a few weeks to grow and get to breathe on their own but otherwise they’re great.**

 _That’s wonderful! Congratulations!_ Kurt feels his eyes begin to mist up. He doesn’t know why this news makes him so happy. He then sends another message. _How’s Tina doing?_

**Alright. It ended up being a C-section because Ben’s heart rate began to drop. Lots of pain.**

_Wow. Is she up for a visitor?_

**Our parents are arriving soon. They left Lima together the moment I called them and I made them go to their hotel first to sleep. Tomorrow should be fine for you to stop by though.**

_Great, I’ll see you then!_

Kurt tries to relax for the rest of the day, which is impossible knowing that it’s Valentine’s Day. Not only is he single, it’s the anniversary of The Fight. It’s always put a damper on the holiday, even when he was with Elliott. This year Kurt feels less morose and more ambivalent to the day. Sunday morning he sticks to his usual routine: lounge in bed until 9, hit the bakery for a strawberry muffin, pick up an issue of the Times, and read it at his kitchen table in nothing but lounge pants. At noon he changes into a simple, gray and black herringbone-print tee and jeans to head to the hospital, picking up a floral arrangement for Tina on his way.

He reaches the maternity ward and realizes he doesn’t know the room number. He stops at the station desk and asks. “Hi, I’m visiting Tina Cohen-Chang, could you tell me what room she’s in?”

The nurse smiles and directs him to fill out the visitor log, handing Kurt a yellow tag to wear on the floor, and then gives him the room number. Kurt thanks her and heads down the hall.

He knocks on the open door when he arrives. “Hey there, Mama,” he says.

Tina grins at him. She looks worse for the wear, but glowing with new mother pride. “Hi! Come on in. Oh, tiger lilies?”

“I figured you’d like something a little fiercer than what your colleagues probably sent,” Kurt quips. He sits them on the windowsill where other vases and congratulations balloons are before padding across to her bed to hug her. “How are you doing?”

“Not bad,” she says, pulling back and groaning. “My suture is a bitch.”

Kurt takes a seat in a chair along the wall. “I bet. When Rachel had her son she demanded the entire delivery team not to cut her open. They almost had to give Jesse the consent forms before things finally progressed.”

“That sounds like Rachel Berry,” Tina chuckles. “How old is Avi now? I haven’t seen them in so long.”

“Three and a half.”

“And she never updated you on how we were at all?”

Kurt shakes his head. “Everyone knew you two were an off-limits subject to me. It’s funny, because yesterday…”

“Yeah, I know. We kind of never celebrated the day after what happened...and now we have reason to. Ben was born at 12:19 and Charlie at 12:20.”

“Where did the names come from?” Kurt asks. He already has an inkling about one of them.

“We decided to each name one,” Tina says. “Thank god, too. It took us five days after Lydia was born to agree on her name. I chose Benjamin, because I wanted a strong Jewish name. And I’m sure you remember Blaine’s grandpa Charlie?”

“Of course,” Kurt nods.

“He passed away two summers ago.”

“Oh wow. I’m so sorry. I know how much Blaine loved him.”

“Yeah, it was pretty hard for him,” Tina replies.

“Speaking of, where is your husband?” Kurt asks.

Tina gapes at him. “My--he never told you?!”

“Told me what?”

She sighs and leans back against her mound of pillows. “Kurt...Blaine and I broke up in college.”


	14. Nose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've been waiting two weeks for the entire Blina story...well here it is!

Blaine can’t let the tears stop as he watches his sons sleep.

The day Lydia was born was one of the best days of his life. She was the perfect baby, passed every test, and got to go home in two days. Blaine and Tina got to enjoy every precious moment with her.

This morning has been another experience. They were brought to NICU for the first time to see Ben and Charlie. The day nurses, Paige and Erin, gave them a tour of the unit and the machinery used on Ben and Charlie. Tina couldn’t stay long, since she’s recovering on her own, but Blaine wanted to remain here and be with them, even if he isn’t able to hold them just yet.

Ben and Charlie are on CPAP machines that cover up their noses and mouths as well as a feeding tube. The expectation is that Monday it will be okay to hold them for a little bit. Blaine is almost afraid to. Charlie is just under three and a half pounds, so, so small. Ben hit four pounds, but he had a few more problems at birth that needed taken care of. Watching them in their incubators is all Blaine can do, and he’ll take any moment he can.

Paige taps him on his shoulder. “Excuse me, Blaine? Tina says she needs you in her room.”

“Oh, okay,” Blaine says, standing up. “Did she say anything is wrong?”

“She didn’t say why,” Paige replies.

“Alright. I’ll probably be back.”

Paige smiles. “Most parents are.”

Blaine leaves the NICU and heads for Tina’s room. He isn’t expecting to see Kurt already there. “Kurt, hi,” he says.

Tina looks at Blaine, her mouth tight. “So, Blaine, I think there has been a little miscommunication here.”

He immediately worries. Tina said she was fine with other visitors...was she not wanting Kurt around? “Okay?”

“It seems that Kurt has been under the assumption this entire time that we are married.”

Blaine’s heart immediately drops into his gut. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry.”

“Why--” Kurt starts before pausing. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought about it,” Blaine sighs, “trust me. It was just never the right time. I told you the first day that it was complicated.”

Kurt snorts. “Okay then. But how did Lydia come?”

“She’s what complicated it, obviously,” Tina says, glaring at Blaine.

Blaine takes the chair next to Tina’s bed and sits down. “Okay. So right before graduation all of us--me, Tina, Sam, and Artie--we decided we would all take New York by storm together. We knew you and Rachel, and later Santana, were living the life out here.”

“And then literally the day before graduation,” Tina continues, “I got accepted into Brown.”

“Wait, really?” Kurt asks. “I had no idea you were an Ivy League grad.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, Quinn’s not the only one of us. So the boys came here and I moved to Providence. Freshman year we took the train back and forth every other weekend and it was magical. We thought okay, we can handle this for four years.”

“And then we spent the summer in Lima,” Blaine says. “When sophomore year began our trips to see each other became less frequent, and we began fighting a bit.”

“That Christmas we went to a New Directions party. I don’t know what it was, but I was so unhappy that night. I asked Blaine if we could leave early but he didn’t want to. He was too busy talking to Marley and Kitty about their college applications or something. I literally pulled him away from the girls and out the door.”

“I drove her home, we spent twenty minutes yelling at each other in my car, and decided it was over.”

“But our friendship wasn’t. Blaine still texted me Christmas morning, and I realized our friendship would never end.”

Kurt nods along to their story. “And Lydia?”

Tina sighs. “I had just found out my fiance was cheating on me. His name was Chad, he was stationed at Norfolk’s naval base, we met October of my junior year and he proposed three years later. I was working in PR for the city and went back to Ohio for something that he couldn’t leave for. When I returned he was in our bed with this five-ten blonde model. I flipped out, grabbed my luggage, and decided to drive straight to New York.”

“She told me what happened on the way,” Blaine says. “So I went out, got a few pints of ice cream and a few bottles of wine. We drank all the wine in an hour and a half while she cried it out.”

“And then we stupidly, stupidly slept together. A month later I realized something was wrong and grabbed a few pregnancy tests...boom.” Tina makes an exploding motion with her hands. “All positive.”

“But you never got back together?” Kurt asks.

“We spent a week after she told me debating what to do,” Blaine replies. “We didn’t want to start a relationship just for the sake of a baby, but I couldn’t bear not being in her life. So Tina applied for a job here working for the city and in two months we bought our apartment and prepared for our little girl.”

Tina takes over. “The funny thing is, even though I had an inkling we’d probably hook up at some point...we never felt the need to. Six years living together and the only times we ever had sex was after we decided we wanted another baby.”

“Which leads us here,” Blaine concludes. “Kurt, I’m incredibly sorry. You deserved to know all of that a long time ago.”

Kurt stays silent for a few moments. “Thank you for at least telling me everything,” he says. “Can I request something?”

“Of course,” Blaine nods.

“Can you two give me some time to process this? It’s...it’s a lot. And there’s a lot that I’ve been dealing with before this. But please don’t call or text me, or come into the school to pick up Lydia unless I have to send her home sick. I want some space.”

“We can do that,” Tina says.

“Thanks.” Kurt stands up and walks to the door. He turns around before he walks out. “Tina, you’re incredible for having gone through this. Blaine...I’m sorry.”

Before Blaine can ask what Kurt means he’s gone.


	15. Orgy

Kurt hits the St. James’ buzzer five times before Jesse finally answers. “Hey, I don’t know who you are but I just put my three-year-old down for a nap. If you wake him up he’s going to be the worst diva ever, and if you know his mother you know that’s major.”

“It’s me, Jesse,” Kurt says into the intercom. “Can you let me up? If Avi’s awake I’ll get him back down.”

“Rachel’s at the theater, you know.”

“Of course I know. I want to talk to her when she gets home.”

He hears Jesse sigh before the door clicks to let him in. Kurt enters the building and makes his way to the penthouse where they live. He knocks on their door and Jesse lets him in.

“You look like hell,” Jesse says as he shuts the door behind Kurt. “Want a drink?”

Kurt nods. “Whiskey sounds good.”

By the time Rachel returns home from her performance Kurt has gone through a third of the bottle, but it has done nothing to relieve the orgy of thoughts in his head. “Oh my god, Kurt, are you okay?” she asks when she sees the bottle.

He glares at her. “Were you ever going to tell me Blaine and Tina aren’t a couple?”

“I thought you knew?”

“Nope. In case you’ve forgotten, Blaine Anderson has a tendency to forget to mention things. Such as he’s single.”

Rachel sits down on the couch next to him. “How did you find this out?”

“From Tina. Literally thirty-six hours after she gave birth. How stupid can he be?”

“Wait, she had the babies? Isn’t it early?”

Kurt nods. “They’re in Ni--Nick-something.”

“NICU?” she corrects him.

“Yeah, there,” he says, gesturing his hands.

“I think you’ve had enough of this,” Rachel says as she takes the bottle off the coffee table and returns it to her and Jesse’s liquor cabinet.

“You know what’s most stupid though?” Kurt asks.

She comes back for the shot glass. “What?”

“I think I was falling in love with Blaine before this.”

“Oh sweetheart, you never fell out of love with him to begin with.”

“I did. He cheated, remember? He’s a cheater.”

Rachel sits down again and pulls Kurt flush against her side. “But you never took the chance to get over him. You went right into dating Adam.”

“Because you told me to!” he says louder than he intends to.

“I never expected you to get serious about him,” Rachel replies. “I just wanted you to have fun, like I was with Brody.”

“Ugh, stupid Brody. All men are stupid.”

Rachel wraps her arm tighter. “Except for you and my husband.”

“No, we’re all stupid,” Kurt says as he starts crying. “Why do I love him, Rach?”

“Because he was perfect for you. That’s what you told me after he went out with me, at least.”

“I still hate that you were his first date,” Kurt mumbles. “I was his first everything else.”

“If I could give that back to you I would.”

They sit in silence after that. Kurt wills his brain to turn off and not think of Blaine at all, but it’s impossible to do after the amount he’s drunk. He feels stupid to have fallen again. He was lied to. And even if Blaine admitted everything back in September, there’s still the moral obligation that this is the father of a student and that’s a very fine line Kurt would be toeing. But still...it’s Blaine. He’s just as charming, charismatic, and generous as he was as a teenager.

Jesse walks into the living room with Avi in his arms. “Uncle Kurt!” Avi cries out, reaching his arms out for him.

“Shhhh, I don’t think Uncle Kurt’s feeling well,” Jesse says. He stops next to Kurt. “I’m making enchiladas tonight if you want to stay.”

“He’s staying,” Rachel replies.

Kurt shakes his head. “I should go home.”

“Not like this you aren’t. You’re getting some food and you already have stuff in the guest bedroom. I don’t want you alone tonight.”

“Rach, I’m fine.” Kurt stands up, which his head rebels against and he immediately drops back down to the sofa.

“Guy troubles?” Jesse asks, setting up a video on the television for Avi to watch.

“Blaine troubles,” Rachel says.

Jesse eyes him. “It’s been awhile since you thought of him, hasn’t it?”

Kurt shakes his head. “I saw him today.”

Shaking his head, Jesse heads to the kitchen. “This is going to be a story, isn’t it?’

“You have no idea.”


	16. Perform

All of a sudden Blaine feels like his life is stagnant. Every day begins and ends at the hospital, spending as much time with Ben and Charlie as possible. His mom is temporarily moving in to help him and Tina get everything settled for when the boys are able to come home as well as the first month of adjusting to a family of five. There’s little time to write, and even if Shawn says he understands Blaine feels he’s letting him down. And it’s been two and a half weeks since he heard from Kurt. Lydia loves Mr. Hummel, so every mention of him drives a dagger into Blaine’s heart. Pam’s eyes go wide the first time she hears of her granddaughter’s teacher, but she doesn’t say a word.

Pam does, however, notice that Blaine is struggling, so she decides he needs to take a day to himself. She books him a day spa treatment and buys a single ticket to a show. It’s the most refreshing day Blaine has had in ages; he feels much more like himself when he leaves the spa.

Until he arrives at the theater and realizes the show he’s seeing stars none other than Rachel Berry.

Her performance in the show is stellar. Blaine can’t believe how much she’s grown since the two of them brought the McKinley house down with West Side Story. In the moments between the closing number and the curtain call he realizes he really should say hello and congratulate her, and when the lights come back on he maneuvers through the swarms of people in hopes of grabbing a good spot at the stage door.

Blaine feels awkward against the barricade. He did the stage door a few times at NYU until time and cost of shows became an issue. Besides, he would eventually be working to get the people to the stage door. But when the first actress comes out he’s back in that mentality, greeting, thanking her for her performance, and getting an autograph on his Playbill.

Rachel comes out fifteen minutes later. Blaine freezes up as she starts at the head of the line. Jack, the actor who portrays her love interest, chuckles at the look on his face. “She is perfect, isn’t she?”

Blaine shakes his way out of his head. “Oh, of course. We’re old friends, actually.”

“You are? Well let me get her over here.” Jack calls across the line. “Hey Rachel, you’ve got a familiar face over here.”

She turns to look at Jack and her jaw drops before turning back into the professional and greeting the teenage girls ahead of her. Blaine’s heart drops. Rachel probably wants nothing to do with him because of Kurt.

That isn’t the case at all when she finally reaches him. “Blaine!” she squeals as she reaches across the barricade to hug him. “It’s been too, too long.”

Blaine smiles into her shoulder. “It really has. You were outstanding tonight. That stage is probably still recovering.”

“Every night,” she jokes. She takes his Playbill and scribbles across it. “Do you know where Spotlight Diner is?”

“Oh, yeah, I love that place.”

“Meet me there in half an hour? We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

“Sure,” Blaine nods. Rachel flashes him a smile and moves on to the next fan.

The guy next to him whistles. “Wow. You know she’s married, right?”

“Of course I do.” Blaine at least knows the goings on of Broadway and about Rachel and Jesse’s epic reconciliation. He’s only met Jesse once, at Kurt’s junior prom, when Jesse came up to him and said “You’re the Warblers’ lead, huh? Great voice, but you should tone the theatrics down.” Needless to say he isn’t quite a fan.

Only one more actor comes out to sign and the crowds begins to disperse after he finishes. Blaine grabs the first cab he can and tells the driver his destination. Rachel is waiting outside the diner when the cab pulls up, and she skips over to help Blaine out of the vehicle and inside.

“How are you?” Rachel asks after they’ve ordered their drinks. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m okay,” Blaine says. “Things are pretty crazy right now.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. How are the babies?”

He grins. Of course she knows. “They’re getting stronger and healthier. Charlie might be able to come home next Tuesday, but Tina is pushing to keep him in until Ben’s ready to be released. Every time the doctor wants to take Ben off the ventilator and get him to breathe on his own he struggles. He’s almost there, though.”

“Do you have pictures?”

“What kind of father would I be?” Blaine jokes, pulling out his phone and opening the photo app up for her.

“Oh, wow, they’re so tiny!” she gasps as she swipes through.

“Yeah. Between being born seven weeks early and Tina’s and my statures, they’ll probably have to deal with that for a long time.”

“Not necessarily. Avi is in the ninetieth percentile for his height, and look at me.”

“Guess you can than Jesse for that,” Blaine says.

The server brings their drinks and Rachel orders a ‘Two-Show Special’ basket of garlic fries. She continues looking through. “Lydia is so gorgeous,” she says as she gets out of the baby pictures. “She’ll be six soon, right?”

Blaine nods. “April nineteenth.”

“Does she like school?”

“Are you only asking me that so you can segue into talking about Kurt?”

Rachel sighs, handing Blaine back his phone. “You hurt him, you know.”

“Yeah, but that was forever ago.”

“No, you hurt him by making him think you and Tina were married,” she says. “He’s still a mess.”

Blaine doesn’t know what to say. “We--we never really talked about it…”

Rachel cuts him off. “Six months, Blaine. For the past six months I’ve dealt with him mooning over you, hearing that he again thought you were the most amazing person on earth after Burt Hummel--God, you know how huge of an honor that is, you already had that space for two years! And guess what? He’s fallen for you again, but he doesn’t think he can trust you because you withheld something he should have known the moment you walked Lydia into his classroom for the first time.”

Blaine feels his heart crumble. “I’m sorry, Rach,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. “I never, ever meant to put Kurt through all of that. He’s too special for that.”

“He is,” Rachel agrees.

“He told me he needed space after he found out, and that’s what I’ve given him. What else can I do?”

“I think that’s it.”

He nods. “I think we need a subject change--tell me all the details about each show you’ve done?”

“Oh, I can gladly do that,” Rachel beams. They talk about her career and his until their fries are long gone. It eases the pain of Blaine realizing that it isn’t just Kurt who’s fallen in love again.


	17. Raw

As spring rolls around, Kurt feels a little less raw about everything.

Is he still pissed at Blaine? Of course. But he feels he’s reached the point where he can forgive him for what happened. At the very least having his friendship again is enough, even if the relationship side is beyond complicated.

The olive branch is extended one Tuesday evening when Kurt texts his Blaine. _Did Lydia tell you about our field trip next week?_

It doesn’t take long for Blaine to reply. **To the Bronx Zoo? She certainly did. She’s already planning her outfit for it.**

Kurt decides to call Blaine and speak with him. “Kurt?” Blaine answers on the second ring, a whimpering sound filling the background.

“Hey, yeah it’s me. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, it’s okay. Charlie’s being extra fussy tonight. Tina's trying to calm him down.”

“Oof, sorry about that,” Kurt says. “But they’re home now?”

“They are. We got to bring them home the day they turned a month old.”

“That’s great. I’m imagining everything is hectic around there.”

Blaine chuckles. “You have no idea.”

Kurt takes a sip of his wine before he continues. “How is it? Having two newborns around?”

“It’s a lot harder than Tina and I expected. Thankfully my mom is here to help out or else we would have lost our heads that first weekend.”

“When is Tina going back to work?”

“Not until June. They’re giving her sixteen weeks instead of the standard twelve since she had to take off early. One of the perks of working for the city.”

“Yeah, I bet. One of our third grade teachers had a baby in mid-July and she was expected to be ready for the first day.”

“Really? Wow,” Blaine replies. “I haven’t even looked at my music sheets since the day Tina went into labor. I couldn’t imagine jumping back into non-parenting life that quickly.”

“Unfortunately that’s America for you,” Kurt says. “Especially to those of us lower on the totem pole than others. Is your writing partner okay with that, at least?”

“Shawn? Yeah, he’s good. We might try to get together later this week so he can show me a few new scenes. Maybe that can get my inspiration going again. Besides, I haven’t left the house since the boys came home.”

Kurt pauses for a few seconds. He downs the remainder of his wine because he needs liquid courage for what he’s about to ask. “Um...is Shawn...do you two have a history?”

“What?” Blaine asks, confused.

“I mean...you two didn’t…”

“Are you asking what I think you are?”

“Maybe.”

Blaine sighs. “We slept together once, during senior year of college. He’s actually terrible in bed, but it doesn’t seem like his husband has a problem with that.”

“Oh,” Kurt replies. “Is there anyone that you’re seeing?”

“Kurt, I have five week old preemie twins and a soon-to-be six year old with my ex-girlfriend,” Blaine says. “There hasn’t been anyone serious in my life in a long time.”

“At least you’re admitting that now,” Kurt jokes morosely.

“I know. I’m really sorry about that, too. Every time I thought about telling you the thought slipped away.”

“I know you are,” Kurt replies. “I was angry about it for a while. But I realized that if I could forgive you for cheating on me, I can forgive you for not telling me things.”

“Not telling you things is how I cheated on you anyway,” Blaine says.

“True. But we were kids then; we aren’t now. We should know better.”

“We should.” A muffled voice speaks to Blaine, which Kurt is fairly certain belongs to Pam Anderson. “Yeah, give me a second,” Blaine says to her before returning to Kurt. “Hey, I’ve got to go, dinner’s ready. We can talk again soon, right?”

“Of course,” Kurt says. “And if you really want to get out of the house, you can chaperone the field trip, you know.”

Blaine laughs. “As tempting as that is, Ben and Charlie actually have a doctor’s appointment that morning so I can’t do it.”

“It was worth a shot. But I’ll let you go. Tell Tina and your mom I said hello.”

“They say hello back. Especially Mom. She keeps wanting to pick Lydia up so she can see you again.”

“She should, I miss her.”

“I’ll talk to you later, Kurt. Have a good night.”

“You too.” Kurt watches the call disconnect and leans back against the couch. Things aren’t getting any easier when it comes to his feelings.


	18. Stir

Tina slams the door to Blaine’s bedroom behind her. “We have a problem.”

“Oh?” Blaine asks.

“Yeah, it seems your mother has decided to stir the pot a little bit.”

Blaine sighs and pushes the lyrics he’s working on away. His inspiration has finally come back and he’s spent the week making headway on his and Shawn’s latest project. “What did she do now?” he asks, turning his chair around to face Tina.

Tina flops down onto his bed, wincing and rubbing at her lower abdomen where her still-fresh scar is. “Well, when I picked Lydia up from school today it turns out it was Kurt’s day to monitor the students leaving. We spent a few minutes talking, and he mentioned that he would see us on Sunday.”

“On Sunday? That’s Lydia’s birthday.”

“Yes. And it turns out that your mother invited him over because, he quotes, ‘you and I need more friends in our lives.’” Tina adds quotation fingers for emphasis. “Pam knows we have friends, we don’t need her meddling just because she’s always loved Kurt more than me.”

“Tay,” Blaine sighs, “she doesn’t love him more than you.”

“What did you tell me her reaction was when you told her you broke up with Kurt?”

“She cried and held me.”

“But when you told her that you and I broke up she didn’t even stop the book she was reading?”

“Tina, I was going through some fucked-up shit in my head when Kurt and I broke up,” Blaine says. “She was just as upset when we ended it, but I was in a better place mentally.”

“But why would she invite Kurt to Lydia’s party?” Tina asks. “Where so many of his students will be?”

Blaine doesn’t have an answer to that--at least one he wants to vocally confirm. “I’ll go talk to her,” he says, standing up.

“Thanks,” Tina replies.

Blaine finds Pam in the living room, looking at the latest coloring page Lydia finished. “Hey, Lyd?” he asks as he sits on the couch, “can you go play in your room for a bit? I need to talk to Grandma.”

“But I wanna play with her,” Lydia pouts.

“Maybe before bedtime, dear,” Pam says. Lydia huffs and then walks away. Pam turns towards Blaine. “Should I ask what this is concerning?”

“Mom, when you and Dad got divorced did anyone try to get you two back together?”

She scoffs. “Of course not. None of my friends liked your father, Blaine, especially when our troubles escalated.”

“What about with any of your exes?” Blaine asks.

“Not that I can think of. Why?”

Blaine shrugs. “I’m just trying to understand why you invited Kurt to Lydia’s birthday party.”

“Because he’s her teacher,” Pam says, “and he’s a huge influence on her. Besides, he said he would bring his godson so it isn’t like he’s just coming as her teacher.”

Blaine shakes his head. Kurt bringing Avi makes it less obvious, but he knows she’s doing it on purpose. “Mom, I don’t need you to do this.”

“Come on, Blaine. Admit that fate brought him back into your life.”

“Fate? Mom, it’s a complete coincidence he works at the school Lydia got into. And even if things had a chance of happening? I fucked that up.”

Pam raises an eyebrow. “How so?”

“I sort of never told him that Tina and I weren’t together.”

“Oh, Blaine,” she sighs. “But everything’s okay now?”

He shrugs. “I guess? He didn’t talk to me for a month, and now things are better.”

“And you’re falling in love again.”

“No I’m not.”

“Blaine, you have that same look on your face that you did fifteen years ago right after you and Kurt began dating.” Pam reaches in and pushes a loose curl out of the way--Blaine’s been so swamped between the increased songwriting and taking care of the twins that he’s left his hair unkempt. “I always knew that nobody would ever come close to him in your heart.”

“That’s a lie,” Blaine says.

“It isn’t. You love Tina, and you always have. But Kurt? He’s your everything.”

Blaine stares down at his lap. “So what now?”

“Have you apologized for what happened?”

“Of course I have, Mom.”

“No,” Pam says, “really apologized. You need to show him how much you care about him.”

“When?”

Pam stands up and smiles at him. “Why not Sunday?”


	19. Talk

“Are you having fun?” Blaine asks Kurt as they stand together watching ten kindergarteners and Avi make their way through a Moana-themed cake.

Kurt nods and tips his soda can towards Blaine. “This has been a great party.”

He worried at first about how Lydia’s birthday party would go with him around. He was so flustered on Monday when Pam Anderson invited him to come by that he said yes without thinking of the implications. But the students have loved having Mr. Hummel around, and Lydia took to Avi immediately, making sure he wasn’t left out of any of the activities.

They watch as Tina and Pam keep control of everything. “We have a little bit of time before she opens presents,” Blaine says. “Do you want to go outside and talk?”

“Sure,” Kurt says.

Blaine leads him through the living room to the balcony. “Nice view,” Kurt says with a low whistle.

“One of the biggest perks of living here,” Blaine says as he sits in a wrought-iron patio chair. “That and it’s not Upper West Side.”

Kurt takes the chair on the other side of the table. “What, have you had enough of the bourgeois?”

“You have no idea. Chelsea has been a perfect area to live. What about you? Where are you located now?”

“East Village. When I moved out of my last ex’s apartment, I knew I was done with the other boroughs, and I couldn’t afford anything else. Plus it was close enough to the school that the commute wouldn’t be a nightmare, like Bushwick to Vogue was.”

“I bet,” Blaine chuckles before going quiet.

“Okay, what’s up?” Kurt asks, taking Blaine’s hand in his. “You okay?”

Blaine shrugs. “Nothing. Just thinking about things.”

“Things?”

“If we were still together.”

“Blaine…”

“Can I talk, Kurt?” he asks. Kurt nods. “I fucked up so badly back then. First by finding Eli, then by dating Tina and not telling you.”

“You didn’t have an obligation to tell me about her,” Kurt says.

“I know,” Blaine says with a sigh. “But then she screwed everything up at the wedding and...and you were gone.”

“Blaine, we were teenagers. I lived in a fairytale thinking everything was perfect when it was far from it.”

“Do you think we would have made it?” Blaine asks.

Kurt contemplates the question. “I think we would have eventually.” Blaine gives him a confused look. “I feel like eventually we would have reunited if I didn’t cut ties with you completely. You would have joined me at NYADA as you wanted. There would still be rough patches, but we’d navigate through them rather than push them away until they explode.”

Blaine runs his thumb along the lines of Kurt’s palm. “Where would we be now?”

“Probably right here, actually,” Kurt says. “A nice Manhattan apartment. Successful careers…” he trails off.

“Celebrating our child’s birthday,” Blaine finishes.

“Something like that.”

Blaine leans in closer. “Kurt…”

“Hmm?”

Blaine doesn’t say anything; instead he brings their lips together. It takes Kurt back to an eon ago, when they first did this and he had to pinch himself to believe it was real. It’s just as real, and just as heat-inducing as before.

Except it’s wrong. All wrong.

Kurt pulls back. Blaine’s eyes are wide in shock. “Are you okay?” Blaine asks.

“I’m sorry,” Kurt says. He jumps out of the chair and rushes inside. “Avi, we have to go, your mom needs you home soon.”

“Why?” Avi protests. “We’re having fun!”

“Because she said so,” Kurt replies as he picks Avi up. “Lydia, happy birthday. I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”

Tina comes up behind Lydia. “Kurt, is everything okay?” she asks.

He shakes his head, turns to see Blaine frozen in front of the balcony door, and leaves their apartment.


	20. Underline

Dear Kurt,

I’m sorry.

I don’t know how many times I have to say it for you to believe me, but I’ll spend my life saying it if I have to. I’m sorry for cheating on you way back when. I’m sorry I took Tina’s side when she fought with you. I’m sorry I made you believe she and I were married. Hell, I’m sorry I didn’t attempt to find you over the years.

I want to tell you a story. Way back in August when we received Lydia’s class information I flipped out. The name Hummel, K. listed on her teacher assignment stood out, underlined in red by the principal. That single line, that name, took me back to a time I hadn’t thought about in quite a long time. Why? I couldn’t tell you. It’s not like anyone ever forgets their first love.

That’s not saying I forgot about you. I could never do that. Your smile, your voice, your generosity, your determination--those were the things that got me through sophomore and junior years. Oh, and your unconditional love for me.

Unconditional until I screwed everything up.

I feel like I’ve spent my life making mistakes. Breaking my wrist when I shouldn’t have been jumping on my bed. Coming out to my dad when I knew he would be anything but accepting that I liked both boys and girls. Going to the first Sadie Hawkins dance. Ignoring your feelings for me--ignoring my feelings for you! Meeting Eli. Accepting Tina’s invitation to the second Sadie Hawkins dance. Letting her berate you for no reason. Not reaching out to you after Finn died (I was student council president, I should have done more for you, your dad, and Carole on behalf of the school and New Directions). Sleeping with Tina long after we broke up--and no, I’m not calling Lydia, Ben, and Charlie mistakes at all. Leading you to believe Tina and I were still together.

But there is one thing I will never consider a mistake, and that’s falling in love with you. It happened when I was sixteen. And it’s happening again at thirty-one.

You are everything, Kurt. Everything I’ve spent the past decade plus trying to find in someone and failing. I’ve had one serious relationship since Tina, and many, many first dates or hook-ups. I now know the reason why--they aren’t you. Nobody will ever hold a candle to you, and they shouldn’t.

But, again, I fucked that all up didn’t I?

The flash drive I enclosed has a song I recorded at two in the morning. Remember, new dad, I wouldn’t have been asleep anyway. It’s Coldplay’s The Scientist, and I feel that it encompasses everything that I want to say to you that can’t make it onto this old-fashioned letter.

Nobody said it would be easy  
Take me back to the start  
I love you

Blaine


	21. Variation

The first week after Kurt runs out on Blaine he receives no fewer than three phone calls a day. There are voicemails after each one. Kurt deletes them, refusing to hear every variation of apology for the kiss.

On the second Monday the secretary stops Kurt on his way in to give him a special delivery. A vase filled with roses. They’re handed out to his colleagues throughout the day.

Thursday a letter arrives, with a flash drive enclosed in the envelope. Kurt doesn’t touch it until he gets home that night.

And then he finally lets his emotions run free.

The song speaks to him in a way he hasn’t let music do since--well, probably since Kurt broke up with Blaine. The melody and the smooth voice he’s missed so much go straight to his heart and tell him Blaine’s story. It’s almost enough for Kurt to pick up the phone and tell Blaine that it’s okay, that they can do this.

Except for one little problem.

He’s over the lies and omissions. He knew that the moment they kissed. Kurt has always been a forgiving person, so forgiving Blaine for everything isn’t the problem.

The problem is that, for the next eight weeks, he’s still Lydia’s teacher.

Kurt knows it could stay quiet. The city is so vast with opportunities for them to not run into a single person who could question them. But his morals, his dedication to his contract and his job are holding him back.

The following week Kurt puts the students full-on into preparations for their Mother’s Day celebration. It’s something he created his first year; a tea party for the students and their mother, or closest guardian or parental figure if they don’t have one. He wants his students to cherish their time with their parents because there’s no guarantee how much time they’ll have.

The mothers arrive one by one just after lunchtime. Tina strolls in just before they begin. “Sorry,” she says as she greets Kurt, “cranky babies after lunchtime.”

“Poor guys,” Kurt chuckles. “Daddy’s taking care of them though, right?”

“Of course,” she replies.

He can tell she wants to ask him about the radio silence. “Stick around to help me clean up?” Kurt asks.

“Sure.” Lydia bounds up and pulls Tina away before she can say anything else.

The tea party goes off without a hitch. It’s the best one Kurt has thrown in his years teaching and he has plenty of photos of mothers and children laughing and having a good time. He stares at the one of Tina and Lydia for a while--even though she has more of Tina’s complexion, she’s a spitting image of Blaine and it makes his heart hurt.

Once the room empties out Lydia tries to get Tina to go home immediately. “But Ben and Charlie need us!” she whines.

Tina crouches down. “They’ll be fine with Daddy and Grandma for a little while. Besides, Mr. Hummel needs us more right now. We can help him get everything cleaned up and good as new. Is that okay?”

“Okay,” Lydia sighs.

“Here Lydia,” Kurt hands her a white trash bag, “why don’t you double check that all of the plates have been thrown away?”

As she goes to do her task, Tina stands back up. “So are you going to explain the radio silence?” she asks.

“Did Blaine tell you he kissed me?”

“He did.”

Kurt begins gathering up the leftover strawberry thumbprint cookies. “If he and I were to enter a relationship, how would that affect you?”

“Kurt, I’m over what I did back then. It was me being a bitch.”

“No, I mean in regards to the kids,” Kurt says. “I’m not saying that I absolutely want to go out with Blaine again--”

Tina smirks. “But you do.”

Kurt glares at her. “If we dated again, and it reached the point where future plans are discussed and marriage becomes a possibility. How would that affect you?”

“We’ve honestly never discussed it,” Tina says, helping Kurt box up the cookies. “Alexandra--she’s the wench Blaine saw when Lydia was a year old--I never felt like she’d be around for a long time. And the last person I went on more than two dates with is my ex-fiance, and that was seven years ago. But I’m sure we would handle it maturely, and discuss living plans, custody arrangements…” she trails off. “But this isn’t the time for it. Right now I just want Blaine to be happy, and he isn’t. He keeps beating himself up for everything.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Kurt says. “I feel like I need to ease myself into this, not get myself hurt yet again.”

“He’s not going to hurt you.”

“I know that.” He takes one of the cookie boxes and hands it to Tina. “Tell Blaine it’s a peace offering.”

She takes the box and smiles at him. “Anything else?”

Kurt inhales deeply. “Tell Blaine that I never said goodbye.”


	22. Width

Blaine stares at a slip of paper the width of his phone. On it he’s scribbled ideas. Most of Shawn’s wackiest plots, and some lyrics that popped into Blaine’s head. He needs something for this number, but it isn’t coming to him.

He feels a stirring against his chest. “You don’t like them either, do you?” he says to a still sleeping Ben, nestled in the carrier for his nap. Both boys wanted to be terrors after Tina fed them, and this was the only way Ben would fall asleep. Charlie finally went down after Pam sang some lullabies to him. She claims it was always the trick to get Blaine and Cooper to sleep, so of course Charlie inherited it.

Blaine’s surge of inspiration took a hit with Kurt’s radio silence. He hopes Kurt understands the kiss wasn’t meant to be malicious, but every call where Blaine attempted to apologize went unanswered. He doesn’t even have acknowledgement that Kurt received the roses or the letter he sent.

Tina knocks on the bedroom door when she gets home. “Hey,” she whispers, “I have something for you.”

“Yeah?” He carefully stands up so as not to wake Ben and crosses the room. Tina is holding a small white box out in her hands. Blaine takes it and opens it to find a half dozen strawberry-topped sugar cookies.

“Oh my god,” he says, taking one and savoring the first bite. “Kurt made these for me both summers when we were together. He said they were his mom’s favorite recipe.”

“They were leftovers from the party,” she says. “And he wanted me to give them to you.”

“Did he say anything else?” Blaine asks, hopeful that there isn’t bad news coming with it.

Tina smiles at him. “He wanted me to tell you that he never said goodbye.”

Blaine chokes back a sob. There is hope after all. Ben whimpers from the movement. “Oh, sorry bud,” Blaine says to him.

“Do you want me to take him?” Tina asks. “It’s about time for them to wake up anyway.”

“Sure.” Blaine sets the box on his bed to unstrap Ben from the carrier and hand him to Tina. “There you go, Mommy’s got you.”

“Hey there Benny,” she coos before looking up. “I take it that was good news?”

“The best news.” She smiles again and walks out. Blaine grabs the cookies and goes back to his desk.

Something stirs inside Blaine, and he grabs a notebook to start jotting lyrics down. They come fast and straight from the heart. It’s been years since he’s written anything that isn’t for a show, so he hopes it will work out once he can put a melody to it.

Once the words are written, Blaine reads them over. It’s perfect. Now he needs to decide his next move.


	23. Year

It’s hard for Kurt to believe he’s sending another crop of students off to first grade after today. This year has been his best class yet--even Bentley Hightower, the one whom he expected to give him fits, turned into a decent enough student. He’s going to miss every last one of them with all his heart.

The last month of the school year has flown by. He and Blaine are talking regularly, and he’s been updated on all the goings on. Tina returned to work, Blaine put the finishing touches on the songbook for his partner’s new show, and the twins are growing like crazy. Everything sounds perfect in the Cohen-Anderson household.

Perfect enough that Kurt almost doesn’t want to break it up.

The kindergarten graduation ceremony is taking place in the gym, and Hudson Academy treats it just like a high school graduation. The kids are given mortarboards to wear, they walk across the stage to where Kurt and his fellow kindergarten teacher give them “diplomas”, and they celebrate afterwards with a party.

Kurt reads his class’ names one by one, failing to hold back a smile when it’s Lydia’s turn to walk across. He glances over to the third row, where Blaine and Tina are seated together, just like they were at his own graduation. Seeing Blaine is making Kurt’s heart soar again, and he knows what he needs to do the second the bell rings and they are no longer teacher and parent.

It seems, however, that Blaine decided to throw him a curveball. When the final student walks across, Deonna, the other teacher, steps forward. “We have a special performance to celebrate our school year. Blaine Anderson, father of Lydia Cohen-Anderson, is an accomplished Broadway songwriter.” Blaine shakes his head no, since none of his work has actually reached Broadway. “And he wrote a song that is meant for everyone here--students, parents, and even myself and Mr. Hummel.”

The parents applaud as Blaine takes the stage. “Thank you, everyone,” he says. “As Ms. Williamson said, I want to celebrate this school year in my own way. This is for all of you--” he pauses and turns to Kurt, “in more ways than one.”

As soon as Blaine begins singing--acapella, of course, as there is no keyboard available for him--Kurt knows the song is meant for him. Blaine sings of failure and second chances, of looking forward to the future. Every word hits Kurt’s feelings, and he begins to cry early in the second verse. 

He loves this man, and he doesn’t ever want to let go of him again.

Everyone gives Blaine a standing ovation when he finishes. Kurt steps forward, wiping his eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Anderson, for that wonderful number. And with that, I would like to congratulate the Mount Hudson Academy Class of Two Thousand Thirty-Eight on meeting their first milestone. You are officially finished with kindergarten!”

The kids cheer loudly and the parents applaud again. Families gather together to speak before the official picnic celebration begins. Blaine steps over to Kurt. “Can we talk?” he asks.

“Of course,” Kurt nods, taking Blaine’s hand and leading him out of the gymnasium to his classroom. If anyone besides Tina saw the action, he officially doesn’t care.

As soon as he closes the door to his room Blaine begins a speech. “Kurt, once upon a time I told you about how I realized I’d been looking for you forever. I’m not that same naive sixteen-year-old who thinks everything will be sunshine and rainbows, but I know one thing. This? Us? It’s the biggest part of me. I’ve missed it, missed you for so long. I know I’ve hurt you multiple times, and it will probably happen again. But I also know that you, Kurt Hummel, are the love of my life.”

Kurt is so overwhelmed he can’t open his mouth. “Kurt, please say something,” Blaine pleads. “Please tell me all of this isn’t for naught.”

Instead, he moves forward and kisses Blaine hard enough that they almost fall over. “I love you so much,” he says between kisses. “I’ve wanted to do this so much since Lydia’s party.”

“Wait, what?” Blaine steps back. “But why did you leave after I kissed you?”

“I knew I had forgiven you for everything long before then,” Kurt says. “But I couldn’t get involved with a student’s parent. It could have been bad.”

Blaine laughs, and oh how Kurt missed that sound. “So that’s it? That’s why you ignored me for weeks after the kiss?”

“Sorry,” Kurt apologizes, blushing. “I guess we both have to work on telling each other the truth, don’t we?”

“We’re works in progress,” Blaine replies as he comes back to Kurt and kisses him again.


	24. Zone

“I go with you?” Charlie asks as he watches Blaine and Tina make the final touches to their attire.

“No, Charlie,” Lydia sighs. “Mama and Daddy can’t take us with them, we have to stay with Grandma.”

“Gamma?” Ben asks. He’s cemented himself as Pam’s favorite grandchild--possibly because he loves looking through her makeup swatches.

“She’ll be here soon,” Tina says. “And all three of you better be on your best behavior, you got that?”

Lydia rolls her eyes. A month of third grade has given her a new attitude, one that makes Blaine fear when she becomes a teenager.

“Don’t give me that, Lydia Grace,” Tina scolds her before turning to Blaine. “Okay, are we set?”

Blaine nods. “I think so. Dress?”

“Check.” Tina spins around in her gown.

“Shoes?”

“Check.”

“Earrings?”

“Check.”

“Fiance?”

“Right here,” a voice says coming out of the bathroom. Mike puts his arm around Tina’s shoulders. “Kurt had to take my tux in a little more.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Tina coos before kissing him. She and Mike reconnected at a New Directions reunion two years ago, as he was about to have his divorce from his college sweetheart finalized. They spent hours talking and making out, and it didn’t take long for Mike to come to New York with a position secured to teach at Juilliard. He even found an apartment for sale in their building, just three floors below, where Tina ended up moving into within months. Their place has plenty of room for Lydia, Ben, Charlie, and Mike’s son Henry when he visits. It’s made everything between the two couples smoother than anyone expected, especially after Kurt moved in that summer and turned Tina’s old bedroom into a workstation for him and Blaine.

“I better go get Kurt,” Blaine says. “You know what will happen if he gets into a zone with his sewing.”

“Seriously, Blainey-days, he isn’t going to miss your opening night,” Tina replies.

Blaine shakes his head. “You’d think so…” and goes off to rescue Kurt.

Kurt is hunched over the sewing machine working on a handkerchief. “Mom will be here soon,” Blaine says when he peeks in. “We should be leaving in ten minutes or so.”

“Okay, just let me finish this.” Kurt guides the fabric through until it’s perfect. “There,” he says with a flourish, pulling the newly monogrammed handkerchief out and waving it around. “I figure I’ll need this tonight.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because I’m about to watch my incredible boyfriend’s work take over a Broadway stage.” Kurt crosses the room and kisses Blaine. “I am so, so proud of you, honey. This is only the beginning for you.”

Blaine blushes. “It’s more Shawn’s work…”

“You still scored the entire thing. That’s incredible. Besides, I feel like the main characters are connected to us in a way.”

“Wait, you think Kevin and Bryce are supposed to be us?”

“Ex-lovers reuniting in a school? It does sound awfully familiar.”

“Then you should discuss that with Shawn,” Blaine says with a smile.

“You know,” Kurt adds, “maybe we could take a page out of the script anyway and follow their ending.”

Blaine stares at Kurt. “What?”

Kurt sighs. “I was going to wait until later tonight, but I can’t do that.” He drops to one knee. “Blaine, we’ve been through so much over the past two decades. There was a time--many times, I guess--that I thought this would never happen. But I don’t see any other way for our story to go. Will you marry me?”

“Oh my god, of course!” Blaine exclaims, failing to hold back the tears. Kurt pulls a box out of his pocket with a platinum band nestled inside, placing the ring on Blaine’s hand before he reaches back in and gives him the handkerchief. Blaine laughs as he dabs it against his eyes. “I love you,” he says.

“I love you too,” Kurt replies.

Blaine doesn’t mention it yet, but in his blurb in the Playbill he lists Kurt as his future husband--because he also wanted to pop the question and make tonight the best night in history.


End file.
